After announcing he would not seek the Republican nomination for 2012 yesterday, Trump revealed today that he has not given up on his political aspirations. They have just crossed the pond.

He’s decided to pursue a run for president in France. Trump will face the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s election.

In light of the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund and a former French finance minister, Trump saw an opportunity. Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who is being held on charges that he sexually assaulted a chambermaid in a Manhattan hotel last weekend, had been expected to declare his candidacy for president in France in the coming weeks. He had been pegged as a favorite to beat President Sarkozy in the next election.

Trump explained, “That’s how I do business. I see a void and I fill it. I see an empty lot and I build on it. That’s the case with France and Mr. Strauss-Kahn. He can’t be elected now or ever. Nowhere, not even in France. So, a spot has opened. And I’m ready. I’m flying over to Paris in the jet tonight. We’re having some shirts printed up and I’m going to shoot them out with a t-shirt gun, just like they do at the Met game. It’s going to be fantastic.”

Early reports from France indicate a guarded interest in Trump. Some supporters have even billed him as “typiquement français” in reference to his multiple marriages and affairs. Jean-Pierre Paulmier, Trump’s newly appointed French press secretary, said at a news conference in advance of Trump’s arrival, “We in France love Bill Clinton. Donald Trump seems to be very close to this type of personality.”